Thursday, August 28, 2014

We are back featuring our Meridian Craft Warehouse Employee Design Team Contest winner, Ashlee Pelletier! Ashlee sure can make her Zentangle art shine! She says it is really relaxing and quite easy to do! Anyone can do it; you don't need to know how to draw to doodle!

1. With your pencil, divide your mat board into six sections. Do this free handed and allow your lines to flow naturally and your spaces to be uneven.

2. At the intersections of your lines, draw paint splats in various sizes, Draw these in pencil, then trace over in pen.

3. Using the pencil lines as guides, fill in each of the six sections with different Zentangle patterns. Look for Zentagle books to use as inspiration in our stores. Don't be afraid to freehand these patterns in pen.

4. Erase all of the pencil marks and guides.

5. Frame your sentangle art and clean the glass thoroughly.

6. Apply the vinyl, according to package directions, centered on the glass.

Enjoy your hand-drawn wall art!

To learn more about Zentangle Art, check out our previous posts here , here, and here.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

This altered "granny square" pattern, by Karen Graepel from our Vancouver Craft Warehouse, using Cascade Magnum Yarn creates a fun chair pad for keeping yourself warm on the bleachers during football season! Make it in your sports team's colors to show your spirit!

Materials

One skein Cascade Magnum yarn, any color except white (white will not felt
because bleach is used during processing).NOTE:Only
one skein is needed to make this chair pad, but you may use two colors
to honor your favorite sports team – and make 2 pads!

Your chair pad is about 20-25% larger than it will be after felting.Place
it in your washer with like-colored fabrics (avoid towels, they may add
lint to your wool) and wash with a mild detergent in warm water. Air
dry, spreading the pad out evenly.Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Create this unique look! We took a fabric fat quarter and coated it with ice resin. After drying for 24 hours we cut it into strips, punched a hole in the top and attached it to chain with jump rings every fourth link!

1. Start with picking a 4x6 piece of Batik fabric. Mix ice resin according to instructions. Heavily coat both sides of fabric and place on plastic bag to dry for at least 24 hours.
2. After ice resin is dry, cut the resin fabric with scissors or a paper cutter. To make this design, cut into a triangle then cut in half. Cut each side into equal sized stripes. Using a small hole punch, punch holes at the top of each strip.

3. Use the 8mm jump rings to attach each strip to chain every four links.

4. Put each bicone on an eye pin and loop other side. Do this to all bicones. These are all connected with the 4mm jump rings to make dangles that are connected between each strip.

* Chain by the foot buy one foot, get the second foot free August 28th through September 21st, 2014.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Knitters are creating cowls, scarves and even afghans using the Arm Knitting method. With Arm Knitting you get the look of knitting without using knitting needles! You can make an easy scarf in the time it takes to watch your favorite TV show!

Cast on 7 stitches, arm knit to desired length.
Cast off and weave short ends together to create the cowl.

“Learn to Arm Knit” teaches the ultimate quick technique for creating fabulous scarves and cowls!
Using super chunky yarn or multiple strands of thinner yarns, you can be finished in about a half hour even with no experience in traditional knitting. Simple instructions will guide you through every step.

* Arm Knitting book $3.99, Heartland Thick and Quick Yarn 2 for $10 (reg $6.99), and Marble Chunky Yarn 2 for $20 (reg $15.99) on sale from August 27 through September 21, 2014

Friday, August 22, 2014

Today we are featuring two winners of our Employee Design Team Contest from our Medford Craft Warehouse! These feathered masks are sure to wow at your next costume party! Dana and Kira wrote easy directions so you can make your own!

1. Start by priming the mask and the mask post with white acrylic paint and let it dry.
2. Next, I used the acrylic aqua green and painted the front of the mask and the post. Used 2 coats to ensure smooth and even coverage. (When painting the post, paint 1 side at a time so you can lay it down to dry. When the first side painted is dry, paint the next side.)
3. Once the aqua green paint has completely dried, take your flat squared tipped brush and white paint, add your tribal designs to the mask.
4. To embellish your mask, take the gold Trevini crystals and line the eyes, chin and top portion of the face. Bond them with superglue. I also added individual crystals to the white tribal designs. Lay down mask to dry.
5. Setting the Feathers. Start by sorting feathers into a color scheme pattern. It is easier to work from the top to bottom while keeping the spines of the feathers coming into 1 point. Use Tacky glue to secure feather spines in place. I added 2 layers of feathers to create a full effect. Since all the spines are exposed, I took the 2 ring neck feather pads, cut them to fit over the spines and glued them down. Let the tacky set and dry for approx. 2 hours.
6. Lastly, add your Tervini crystals to the handle to add a beautiful accent. Allow to dry for 2 hours. When your project has dried completely, attach the handle to the mask and enjoy!!!!

1. Start with placing your feathers around your mask to create the look you want. After you have determined placement, glue the feathers, starting with the bottom placements of your feathers and glue them to the mask using the E6000. Work through the layers and once all your feathers have been placed and the glue has dried, you are ready for the next step.2. Using your Ultra-Fine Black Sharpie, create your masks eye brows by whisking your Sharpie in short strokes along the brow line.3. Next, color in eye shadow effect by using the blue, green, and purple Sharpie Brush tipped markers. Take your finger and smudge the colors together as desired. Allow to dry for 15 minutes4. Using your Black Sharpie, outline the eyes and draw in the eye lashes. 5. Using your Red Trivini sticker gems, outline the lips and accent the inner eye with 1 gem on each eye. 6. Next, using the Blue Trivini sticker gems accent the spine of both black feathers with the purple spots and use 1 gem to create a nose piercing on the right side of the nostril.7. Finally, using the iridescent gems, accent your mask as desired. I chose to accent more of the left side of the mask since the majority of the feathers fall to the right side.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

We love to reduce and reuse when we can! Some of my favorite shopping markets encourage bringing my own bags and I love having handmade ones that last longer than the cheaper alternative! Plus, I always seem to get complements on them!

Marty from our Medford Craft Warehouse got busy making these Eco-Chic bags from our new burlap coffee bean sacks now in stores! Here's the pattern she used to make it quick and easy!

* Note: Right click and save the photos above to your computer. You can then print them out if you wish.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

It’s not everyday that I make a project that brings my family to tears in my bathroom. Yep, you heard it right. At least they are closer to the tissue. A couple of months ago we changed the colors of our bathroom and I bought some towels that I love. The towels are teals in three shades that create a hombre effect in my towel closet. With brown walls I feel like I’m at the beach in the sand and the waves. To add to this feeling I decided I wanted to capture an image of my kids at the beach when they were young by transferring a photo to a wood board and sanding it to look like weathered wood. Yes, this is where the crying comes in. They are so cute when they are little.

I loved the way these turned out and the directions of how to create them are below. Of course all the supplies can be purchased at your local Craft Warehouse. I hope you have fun. I know I did.

Step One-Prep the Board: When the photo is transferred to your board, the board will show through any places on your photo that is white or light in color. I decided I wanted the wood grain to lightly show through my photo. To do this I coated the bottom layer of my Sierra Pacific board in Primitive Americana Décor Chalky Paint and let it dry. (This paint is amazing. I kept coming back to the board to pet it. It was so soft. ) Then I placed my Decorating Your Life vinyl saying on the layer of Primitive and then mixed Treasure Americana Chalky Paint and Primitive Chalky Paint to match my towels and painted over the vinyl to layer the words under my photo for a weathered look. Then I sanded the board with some fine-grained sandpaper to get a distressed look and see the wood grain.

Step Two-Prep the Photo: You will need to print your photo on regular copy paper on a toner printer. Make sure to reverse your image so local landscapes or words do not appear backwards after transferring. You can easily print these photos at your local office supply store. Lastly, trim the photo to remove any of the unprinted white edges.

Step Three-Transfer Photo: Lay a thick layer of the Americana Décor Image Transfer Medium over your project and your photo. You want to make sure every piece of the photo touches the medium. Then lay your photo face down on the medium on the board and smooth out your photo making sure not to puncture your photo and to get out any bubbles. I used a rolling pin then rubbed it down with my fingers. Wipe away any extra Transfer Medium from the edges with a damp rag. (Don’t forget to wash your tools) Let dry overnight.

Step Four-Remove Backing and Apply Finish: It’s time to get messy. (After looking at my floor, I should have taken this outside for this step.) Get a wet rag and lay it over your project until the paper is wet enough to start seeing the image then carefully rub the back off your photo. If you want a distressed look, feel free to use an old washcloth. If you are going for a clean picture with no nicks or scrapes use your fingers and carefully rub it off. You may have to repeat this several times to clean off all the backing. After you gently remove all the paper backing and your vinyl, sand if desired and coat the project with one more layer of the Americana Décor Image Transfer Medium to prevent scratches.

Step Five-Don’t Show Your Mom: If you do, you may end up making two sets…

Monday, August 18, 2014

Stay organized as you head back to school with this Chalkboard Message Board! Keep notes of what is coming up "this week" with chalk and add appointments to the chicken wire with clothes pins! It is the perfect way to rein in the chaos!

1. Apply Chalky Finish Paint to wood on the front of the chalkboard. Let dry.

2. Apply vinyl to the chalkboard according to package directions. Carefully season the chalkboard around the vinyl using the chalk flat on the surface going in one direction - then again in the opposite.

3. Screw in the drawer pull upside down to create a chalk holder.

4. Use a bistro marker to write on the chalkboard clothes pins and attach to the chicken wire.

5. Screw small eye hooks into the top of the frame and slide the ends of the ribbon through both hooks and tie a knot.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Today we are featuring another project from a member of our Vancouver store Employee Design Team! This project is stunning! It is amazing how easy you can use a plain unfinished wooden craft frame and transform it into a distressed piece of art! Once you are finished painting, you can add Tim Holtz pieces to add that Old World charm!

Thursday, August 14, 2014

This is the first project in our Employee Design Team series! Our Vancouver store is first up with this fun display! Whether you place this decorated distressed drawer on your porch, sun room, or inside - it will remind you of what you love about the outdoors. The subway art looks hard, but really it is only a vinyl that all you need to do is rub on the surface to apply!

1. Carefully apply vinyl wording to the inside of distressed drawer in the largest opening according to package directions.

2. Cut a 14"x4" piece of chicken wire to fit across the two small openings on the bottom of the drawer and then set aside.

3. Take the two 4" stars and remove the small ring from the top of each star with the wire cutters. Lay the drawer flat and apply glue to each of the stars, then place them in the corners of the small openings. Let dry.

4. Now apply glue to each of the small hooks and carfully place them above the vinyl at the very top of the drawer, about 2" apart. Let dry.

5. Once the glue is dried (about 4-6 hours), take the cut piece of chicken wire and place it over the small openings. Staple the wire to the drawer.

6. Take the 1 1/2 yard pieces of both the ribbons and wrap around the chicken wire, then tie in a simple knot with 2" tails. Tie two more knots on the two outside hooks using the additional two 4-6 inch pieces of canvas ribbon to complete the project.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Create your own antique look with Americana Decor Creme Wax. Due to the porous nature of Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paints, the Creme Waxes literally fuse with the paint to provide a super strong layer of protection against daily use!

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Hi Craft Warehouse fans, Michelle here, and I’m so excited to be a part of the 2014 Craft Warehouse Core Design Team. Today I’m sharing a project that is great for a home décor piece or as a fun decoration for a birthday party or bridal shower. Follow along to see how you could make one of these awesome pieces for yourself, using Echo Park's Summer Bliss collection available in stores!

Today I will share with you the process I used to create the letters as well as how to create the various size medallions. Let’s start with the chipboard letters.

These chipboard letters from Paper Accents are perfect for large projects like this wall hanging or banners. They are so versatile and can be customized in many different ways. You can even emboss them with embossing folders. For this project I started by painted the bare chipboard letters with a lime green acrylic paint.

Once the paint dried I added a second coat to make sure I got good coverage. After the second coat dried I added a layer of lime Stickles to the top to add glitter. Stickles is a great way to add glitter to projects, it’s quick and simple and when it dries you don’t have to worry about glitter shedding from your project.

Here’s a closer look at the finished letters. I love the how the Stickles add just the right amount of shimmer to this piece. Now that the letters are done let’s look at how to make all those medallions.

These medallions can be made any size you want. You will need two strips of patterned paper that are 12” long, the width of the strips will determine how large or small the medallions are. The largest I made used two strips that were 3” x 12”. I also made them in the following widths, 2 1/2 ” x 12”, 2” x 12”, 1 1/2 ” x 12” and 1” x 12”. The smaller the width of the strips the tighter the medallion will look. Regardless of the size of the medallion the process to create them is the same.

Starting at 1/2” and with the paper with the pattern face up, use a scoring tool to score at every inch, so ½”, 1 ½”, 2 ½”, 4 ½” and so on. When you get to the end flip the paper over so the back side is up and score at every inch starting at 1”. By flipping and scoring every other ½” this will create “hills”and “valleys” and it will help with the accordion folding later. Repeat the scoring on the second strip, but start with the back side up and finish with the front of the paper face up.

Once your scores are made, fold back and forth on the score lines, creating an accordion fold with each strip.

Now that the pieces are folded, place adhesive on the back side of on the edges of one of the strips, I used Scor Tape here, it’s quick and has a strong hold.

Attach one end of each strip together to create one long strip.

Then attach the two loose ends together to create a circular piece.

Now fold the medallion flat so it flowers out. Cover a scrap piece of cardstock with hot glue and lay the medallion flat on the hot glue. Hold in place until the glue hardens enough to hold in place. I then used a circle cutter to cut out the medallion centers out of a piece of patterned paper.

I made extra medallions so I plenty to choose from and just layered them randomly and attached them to a piece of chipboard or cardboard.

We’d love to see what you create so be sure to share on Instagram and hashtag #craftwarehouse if you decide to try out this awesome project!